


Who Needs Old St. Nick?

by dragonydreams



Series: Finding Home [3]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: F/M, christmas in july
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-07-23 01:48:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7461825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonydreams/pseuds/dragonydreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summary: Sara spends her birthday, aka Christmas, with Leonard, Lisa, and Mick. </p>
<p>Sequel to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/6760648">Lost and Found</a> & <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/7072078">Walking on Sunshine</a>. I recommend reading them first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Who Needs Old St. Nick?

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over these characters. I am merely borrowing them from DC Comics, Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg and Phil Klemmer.
> 
> Betas: Thank you to angelskuuipo and shanachie for looking this over for me.
> 
> Author's Note: Written for Christmas in July at [LoT_Fans](http://lot-fans.livejournal.com) on LiveJournal.

"What do you mean you aren't coming home for winter break?" Quentin demanded over the phone.

"Just what I said, Daddy," Sara said. "I'm going to stay in Central City through the New Year, and then I'll come home."

"I thought the dorms were closed over break," Quentin said, desperately.

"They are," Sara confirmed. "You remember me telling you about my friend, Lisa? She lives at home and she invited me to stay with her."

"But this will be your first birthday we don't spend together," Quentin pointed out.

"I want to spend it with my new friend, is that so wrong?" Sara asked.

"Your mother will be so disappointed," Quentin said in a last ditch effort.

"I'll be home a week later. We can celebrate then," Sara promised. "Now, I've gotta go finish studying for finals."

"Good luck, baby," Quentin said. "We'll talk soon. Love you."

"Promise; love you, too," Sara said and ended the call. She turned to look up at Leonard, who she'd been leaning against while she'd been on the phone. They were sitting on the couch in his apartment's living room. "I'm all yours."

He leaned down to kiss her. "You already were."

It was the week before the end of Sara's first semester at Central City University. She and Leonard had officially been together since he came to visit her over the summer, but it didn't really feel real until she'd arrived for classes and they could start seeing each other nearly daily. 

Sometimes there were weeks when Leonard was focused on planning a job so they couldn't see each other at all. Other times Sara had to focus on a paper so she holed up in her dorm room. But they made up for the missed time whenever the busy times were over. Sometimes their busy times overlapped, which worked out perfectly. (Leonard even started planning jobs around when Sara would have major assignments and tests.)

One of the nice surprises for Sara was meeting Leonard's sister, Lisa. She was around the same age as Sara and the two quickly bonded, much to Leonard's frustration. She now considered Lisa to be one of her closest friends, outside of her relationship with Leonard.

When she wasn't in classes or hard core studying for a deadline, Sara could usually be found at Leonard and Lisa's apartment, studying or just hanging out. She spent most of her nights there too, much to her roommate's delight.

"Can't you do that in your room?" Lisa complained, good-naturedly from her spot on the armchair next to the couch. Once Sara and Leonard ended their kiss, she said, "I can't believe that worked."

"I told you it would," Sara said. "And I wasn't even fully lying. I've been telling him all about my new friend, Lisa that I met in Central City all semester. He just doesn't know that you're my older boyfriend's sister."

"I still don't see why you want to spend Christmas with us since we don't celebrate it," Lisa said. "Not that I'm not happy you're staying, but I don't get it. You have a family that does the whole picture perfect Christmas. We've never had that."

"You want to go spend Christmas with my family?" Sara asked, teasingly.

"That would kind of blow your cover, wouldn't it?" Lisa pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Pretty much," Sara agreed. "And the fact that you don't celebrate Christmas is exactly why I want to stay. Do you have any idea how much it sucks being born on Christmas?"

"We'll celebrate your birthday properly," Leonard promised, kissing the top of her head.

"I don't want any of the usual Christmas foods," Sara insisted, sitting up so that she could look at him. "No baked hams, no turkeys, no casseroles, and no cookies."

"Do we look like turkey and casserole people?" Lisa asked with a smirk.

"And no Chinese food," Sara added.

Leonard chuckled. "I told you, I've got it all taken care of," he said. "Birthdays are one thing I know how to do."

"And no clowns," Sara added.

"Does Mick count?" Lisa teased.

"Mick's coming?" Sara asked, sounding pleased. 

"Who else do you think is going to cook?" Leonard asked. "We're certainly not going to make you eat anything we cooked on your special day."

"You're not a bad cook," Sara objected. "Laurel's way worse." Sara pushed herself to her feet. "I need to get going; I really do have finals to study for. Give me a lift?"

Leonard fluidly rose to his feet and headed to grab their coats, ignoring Lisa as she made the sound of a whip being cracked.

~~*~~

While Sara did have studying to do, that wasn't the main reason she wanted to get home.

She had her own plans for her birthday, aka Christmas, which were to be surprises for Leonard and Lisa. 

Her roommate had taken her to a craft store where Sara had bought two tabletop fake Christmas trees (that had come with lights) and a couple bags of plain ball ornaments, which Sara was painting with nail polish to be either a sparkly dark blue (for Leonard) or gold (for Lisa). 

The plan was for Mick to take them over in a large box. He didn't know what she was planning, but had agreed to help her with a surprise when she'd asked. At some point during the evening, Sara would slip away to use the restroom and set the trees up, along with some presents, before rejoining the party.

Just as they were giving her the birthday-only party she'd always wanted, she was going to give them the Christmas they'd ever had.

~~*~~

As Sara's last final had been December 21st, she had been staying with the Snarts for a few days already when the big day arrived.

She woke slowly, a smile spreading across her face. She was spooned in front of Leonard, his solid body curled around her smaller one as he held her close in his sleep. 

As if sensing she was no longer asleep, Leonard pulled her body closer to his, burying his nose against her neck.

"Go back to sleep," he mumbled and kissed her neck.

"How'd you know I was awake?" Sara asked, quietly, running her fingers over the arm he had around her waist.

"Just did," Leonard said. "Don't wanna be. Go sleep now."

Sara laughed and tried to settle back down, but she was too giddy to go back to sleep. She rolled out of bed and was happy to notice that Leonard had fallen back asleep. He rolled onto his stomach, into the space she'd vacated by the time she reached the door. 

She dug around in her bag for something before slipping out of the room and heading for the bathroom. After taking care of business, she brushed her teeth and her hair, looking at her boring pajamas as she did.

After the first few times she'd slept over, Leonard had commented on her shivering during the night, despite both their body heat under the covers, and insisted that she should be comfortable rather than wearing the sexier tank top and shorts she'd been wearing to bed. 

Sara slipped out of her comfy pajamas, and underwear, and into the sexy red silk nightie she'd brought in with her. She shivered slightly in the cool apartment - Leonard always turned the thermostat down overnight - but she knew that Leonard would soon be warming her up.

She grabbed the PJs and hurried back to Leonard's room, tossing them on her bag as she slipped back into bed. 

Leonard was laying on his back now, one arm stretched out, as if reaching for her. 

Sara pressed herself against his side and Leonard's arm curled around her. He shifted until he was on his side, facing her. His eyes cracked open. "Where'd you go?"

"Had to get ready for my first birthday present," Sara said. "Now it's your turn."

"You know something I don't?" Leonard asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Just, go brush your teeth and come back to bed," Sara said. "I promise it'll be worth it." When Leonard still seemed reluctant to leave the comfort of his bed, Sara added, "Birthday Girl's orders."

"Are you going to be this much of a brat all day?" Leonard asked, getting out of bed. "Because I'm seriously re-thinking your party now."

Sara simply blew him a kiss, clutching the covers to her chest as she made sure to keep her arms under them.

Leonard was back a couple of minutes later and eagerly climbed back under the covers, which Sara tossed away as she pushed Leonard onto his back and straddled him. His eyes widened as he took in her new attire, his hands immediately beginning to caress her through the silk.

"Is this supposed to be my present or yours?" he asked, licking his lips. 

"Can't it be both?" Sara asked; rolling her hips against his and moaning softly as she felt him begin to harden beneath her.

Leonard surged up, pulling Sara into a hungry kiss, which she eagerly returned, her tongue sliding against his.

Sara began to claw at Leonard's shirt, dragging it up his body, reluctantly breaking the kiss to pull it over his head.

Leonard trailed his kisses down her neck, finding every sensitive spot along the way, causing Sara to writhe against him. He continued to trail kisses down her chest, teasing her nipples through the silk with his mouth. 

When Sara reached down to remove the nightgown, Leonard stopped her. 

"Leave it on," he said and rolled them sideways until Sara was on her back and he was pressed against her, enjoying the feel of the silk against his skin.

Instead, Sara reached for the waistband of his pajama pants, roughly trying to shove them off. Leonard helped, shoving and kicking off the offending clothing until he was naked above her. 

Sara held out the condom she'd gotten out while he'd been brushing his teeth, but Leonard only set it aside on the bed.

"Not yet," he said and proceeded to kiss his way down her body. With his hands on her hips, he slid the nightgown up just far enough to expose her sex to him. 

Even though she'd seen where he was going, Sara was still surprised by the first touch of mouth against her. Despite them having had sex many times over the past several months, Leonard had never gone down on her before. No one had.

Her back bowed as his tongue ran the length of her slit to flick at her clit. One of her hands pressed against the wall above her head, needing some kind of leverage while the other reached for him, holding his head against her, never wanting him to stop. 

Leonard slid his right hand from her hip and easily pressed two fingers inside Sara, moving them in rhythm with his mouth against her clit.

Sara bit her lip to keep from screaming out her pleasure, instead making constant whimpering, keening noises. It wasn't long after Leonard found that spot that made her see stars that she lost her battle with staying quiet and she moaned loudly as she crested the wave of her orgasm.

Leonard eased her back down, licking his lips and then his fingers as Sara lay panting and sated beneath him. 

He quickly donned the condom and slid up Sara's body, hovering over her until she opened her eyes.

"That was amazing," she said, running her fingers along his back. "Why haven't we ever done that before?"

"Wanted to save something special for your birthday," Leonard said. "Happy Birthday."

"Mmm, thank you," Sara rolled her hips beneath him, pressing against his erection. "That's not only going to be for birthdays, is it?"

"Hell no," Leonard said. "You think I'm going to only get to do that twice a year?"

"I thought guys didn't like doing that to girls," Sara said. 

"Boys don't," Leonard said. "Luckily, you're not dating a boy."

"No, I'm not," Sara agreed, wrapping her hand around his erection, causing Leonard to groan. His mouth found hers as she guided him to where they both needed him to be and soon Leonard was fully buried inside her. Sara's legs wrapped around his hips, allowing him to sink even deeper.

Leonard tried to go slowly, to savor the feel of her, enjoying the silk against his chest, but he was too close to the edge after witnessing her earlier orgasm. When he began to increase his pace, Sara encouraged him, driving him to go even faster, harder. 

Sara's mouth moved to his neck, licking and sucking at the flesh there, driving him on. 

He managed to get one hand between their bodies, his fingers spanning her silk covered hip as his thumb grazed her clit. Still sensitive from her first orgasm, Sara's body soon clenched around him as she spiraled over the edge, again, pulling him with her.

Leonard collapsed next to her, happy and exhausted. He managed to toss the condom in the bedside trash bin before spooning behind Sara again. 

"Now that's the way to start a birthday," Sara muttered. She turned her head to kiss Leonard. He lazily kissed her back until his exhaustion got the better of him and he dozed off. Sara laughed quietly to herself as she pulled the covers up and snuggled back against him.

~~*~~

An hour later, there was a knock on the bedroom door, waking Sara and Leonard from their doze.

"Breakfast is ready," Lisa announced.

"We'll be there in a minute," Leonard answered.

"Don't be too long, I don't want it to get cold," Lisa said.

"You _cooked_ breakfast?" Leonard asked, surprised, rolling out of bed and pulling on his pajama pants before opening the door.

Lisa poked her head into the room, her eyes seeking out Sara. "Happy Birthday!"

"Thank you," Sara said. "What'd you make?"

"Nuh uh, you've gotta get up to find that out," Lisa said. 

"We'll be right there," Sara promised and Lisa closed the door behind her as she went back to the kitchen.

"Do you think it's safe?" Sara asked, rising from the bed. She retrieved the pajamas she'd slept in and pulled them back on. Leonard donned his shirt and grabbed their robes, handing Sara hers.

"Lisa's always been best with breakfast foods," Leonard admitted. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

When they opened the door again they could smell bacon and their stomachs growled in response.

On the kitchen table there was a plate piled with bacon, another stacked high with French toast, a bowl of berries, a jug of orange juice and a pot full of coffee. 

"Ta da," Lisa said, standing behind her chair, gesturing to the spread.

"Lisa, this looks wonderful," Sara said, running over to hug her friend.

Lisa ducked her head and shrugged her shoulders. "Hopefully it tastes that way, too."

"When did you have time to do all of this?" Leonard asked they all sat.

"You may have had dinner all planned out, but this is what I've been planning for Sara," Lisa announced. "Besides, _someone_ woke me up an hour ago and I figured that I may as well start cooking the bacon since I was already awake."

A blush stole up Sara's cheeks as she bit into a piece of bacon. "Sorry," she mumbled. 

They all filled up their plates with the food that Lisa had prepared and heartily ate. 

"This is really good, Lisa," Leonard said after having devoured two pieces of thick French toast and countless pieces of bacon. Sara seconded his declaration.

"Thanks, Lenny," Lisa said. 

Once they'd all eaten their fill, Leonard suggested, "Why don't you girls go shower and get dressed? I'll take care of the cleanup."

"I can do it," Lisa objected.

"No, you cooked; I'll clean," he insisted. 

"You can shower first," Sara offered. "You're the one who was slaving over a hot stove this morning, after all."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Lisa said; standing, and heading to grab her shower.

Sara got up as well and started to clear the table, but Leonard stopped her. "Uh uh, no work for the birthday girl," he scolded her. 

"I can help," Sara insisted.

"You can let us pamper you," Leonard insisted, leaning over to kiss her. "I've got this."

"If you insist." Sara skipped out of the room, deciding this would be the perfect time to set up her surprise.

She'd had Mick leave the box with her Christmas presents for Leonard and Lisa in the living room, claiming that she wasn't going to need anything from it before going to Starling City, and Leonard hadn't objected.

She went into the living room and looked around, trying to figure out the best place to set up her surprise. The end tables could work, but they had lamps on them. The fireplace mantle was too narrow, but the fake fireplace could work. 

Sara knelt in front of the fake fireplace - really, what was the point of putting in a fireplace if it wasn't real? - to check it out. Leonard had been using the space to hold dozens of… art books? Sara supposed it wasn't really that surprising. He did spend a lot of time in museums, after all. She bet he hadn't paid for a single one of them.

She began to move the books, piling them beside the "fireplace" and making sure to keep them in order, until she'd created a wide enough space for both of the trees. 

When she stood, she glanced into the kitchen to see Leonard was still busy washing the dishes, and she could still hear the shower running in the bathroom down the hall. 

As quietly as she could, she removed the tape keeping the large box closed and pulled out Leonard's tree. She set it down in the space she'd cleared before doing the same with Lisa's tree. Finally, she pulled out five wrapped presents: two for Leonard, two for Lisa, and one for Mick (to sit between the two trees).

Just as she was finishing straightening everything, she heard the shower turn off and smiled at the timing.

Sara went back into the kitchen where Leonard was wrapping up the last of the leftovers.

"Lisa's done so I'm gonna shower now," she informed him.

"Want me to join you?" he offered, smirking.

Sara pretended to think about it. "Not with your sister home," she finally said. She kissed his cheek. "I'll be out soon."

Leonard swatted at her ass as she turned to leave, earning him a delighted giggle. 

True to her word, Sara showered quickly, hoping to be done and dressed before her surprise was discovered. She had just finished drying her hair when she heard Lisa's loud squeal.

Grinning, Sara pulled a sweater on over her tank top and ran out to the living room, arriving just as Leonard did from the kitchen, brandishing large knife.

"Lenny, look," Lisa said, pointing at the trees. She turned to Sara. "Did you do this?"

"Merry Christmas," Sara said.

Leonard set the knife down and joined the women, taking in the twin trees and presents. He wrapped an arm around Sara's shoulders, pulling her against his side. 

"I thought we weren't going to celebrate Christmas," he said, his voice sounding thick.

"Yeah, well, you guys were going to be going out of your way to give me the kind of birthday I never had, so I wanted to give you the kind of Christmas you never had in return," Sara admitted.

Leonard dipped his head to kiss Sara, expressing how much her gesture meant, without words. 

Meanwhile, Lisa had dropped to her knees in front of the trees, examining the decorations and the presents under the trees. 

"Who's the fifth present for?" Lisa asked.

Sara reluctantly broke the kiss to answer. "It's for Mick."

"You got Mick a present?" Leonard asked, surprised. 

Sara shrugged. "He's cooking me dinner tonight. Besides, I didn't want him to feel completely left out of your celebration."

"You are way too good for my brother," Lisa announced. "Can we open our presents now, Lenny?"

Leonard smiled fondly at Lisa as he and Sara settled on the floor with her. "This is Sara's show."

Lisa turned big, puppy dog eyes on Sara. "Of course," Sara gushed. "I want you to."

Lisa tore into the first of her small presents, excitedly displaying the gold hoop earrings she'd opened and immediately putting them on before grabbing her other present. She pulled out the gold bracelet and held her wrist out for Sara to put it on her, then pulled Sara into a hug. 

"I love them, thank you," Lisa said. "How did you know?"

"Your love of gold is the world's worst kept secret," Sara said, earning a playful slap to her arm.

"Lenny, why haven't you opened yours yet?" Lisa demanded.

"I was enjoying you watching you opening your gifts," he said.

"Well, now I'm done, so open yours before I open them for you," Lisa insisted. 

Leonard reached for the larger of the two presents first, teasingly shaking it to drive Lisa crazy. Then he began to slowly remove the paper, doing his best not to rip it. (He'd once told Sara that the few times their parents did give them presents, they had to save the paper to re-use the next time, so he had to be careful with it, or risk getting hit.)

"Dad's not here," Lisa said. "Just rip it already."

Leonard froze, as if realizing what he'd been doing, and then tore the remaining paper off, earning a delighted laugh from Lisa.

He opened the box and removed the softest cashmere navy blue scarf he'd ever touched. He lifted it to his face and nearly groaned with pleasure at how nice it felt against his skin. He unfolded it and wrapped it around his neck.

"A scarf?" Lisa questioned. "That's not very romantic."

"Wasn't supposed to be," Sara said. "Leonard's always complaining about not liking the cold, so I wanted to help warm him up."

"There are other ways to warm me up," he drawled. 

"True, but I can't always be there when you're out," she said. 

"Now you will be," he said, leaning in for a kiss. 

"Kiss later, presents now," Lisa demanded. 

Leonard rolled his eyes in a way that said that he loved his sister but he wished she'd go away right now, but he dutifully picked up his other present. This time he ripped into the paper right away.

His jaw dropped when he saw what had been revealed. 

"I hope that's a good one," Sara said. "The guy at the store was really nice when I told him I was getting it for my boyfriend."

Leonard lifted the hunting knife out of the box, along with its boot sheath.

"You got me a weapon," he said, in awe. 

"I know what you do can be dangerous, and that you carry a gun when you're on the job," Sara said. "I wanted you to have a backup weapon in case something happens to your gun."

"You shouldn't be getting involved in what I do," Leonard said. "I don't ever want anything to be traced back to you."

"It won't be," Sara insisted. "I paid for it in cash and will be tossing the receipt as soon as you promise that you won't make me return it. Please say you'll keep it."

Leonard practically tackled Sara to the floor, covering her body as he claimed her mouth with his. This time he ignored Lisa's protestations and continued to kiss his cop's daughter girlfriend who bought him a weapon as a Christmas gift.

"Does that mean you'll keep it?" Sara breathlessly asked when the kiss ended.

"I'll keep it," Leonard promised. "Thank you for such thoughtful gifts. You really didn't have to do this. You made Lisa very happy; and me, too."

"You're welcome," Sara said. "It was something I really wanted to do."

Lisa cleared her throat, drawing their attention to where she was glaring at them.

Reluctantly, Leonard let Sara up. 

"Can we open Mick's present?" Lisa asked.

"No," both Sara and Leonard answered. 

"Fine," Lisa said with a sigh. "Then what do you want to do now?"

"Watch a movie?" Sara suggested.

"I still need to shower," Leonard pointed out, "but you two can start something and I'll join you when I'm done."

" _Sixteen Candles_?" Sara suggested.

"Yes!" Lisa wholeheartedly agreed.

Leonard groaned. "Or maybe I'll join you _after_ the movie."

"Join us for the movie," Sara begged.

"All right, fine," he agreed.

~~*~~

Sara was a little surprised that Leonard managed to delay joining them for as long as he did after his shower. She knew for a fact that he didn't take long showers.

She supposed that she couldn't fault him for taking the time to make lunch as part of his delay tactics. _Sixteen Candles_ was a pretty girly movie, but she'd always loved it. Being born on _the_ major Christian holiday felt a lot like no one remembering your birthday the day before your sister's wedding. Only it happened every year. At least Sara had gotten the guy already.

When Leonard finally joined the girls, he brought grilled cheese sandwiches and sodas. Since the girls were huddled together on the couch, he sat on the floor by Sara's legs.

When Lisa got up to go to the bathroom after the movie, Leonard took her place. Sara happily snuggled into his side. 

"Are you having a good birthday?" Leonard asked, running his fingers through her hair.

"The best," Sara gushed. She tilted her head up for a kiss, and Leonard happily obliged, deepening the kiss almost immediately.

"Geez, I leave the room for two seconds and you're all over each other," Lisa complained upon entering the room.

"What did you think was going to happen when I said Sara would be staying here for a week?" Leonard asked. 

"I didn't think I'd have to see you doing that so much," she pouted.

"You're just jealous," Sara said. 

"Of you sucking off my brother's face? That would be a world of no," Lisa said, disgusted.

"Not of me," Sara said, laughing. "That you don't have someone's face to suck off."

"Okay, who wants to watch another movie?" Leonard suggested, entirely uncomfortable with the direction this conversation had taken, and pulled up On Demand on the cable box.

"We can watch a Christmas movie, if you want," Sara offered. "I actually like most of them."

Lisa turned wide, hopeful, eyes to Leonard. "Please?" she asked, without saying what she wanted to watch. 

"Do we have to?" Leonard countered; a slight whine to his voice.

Sara watched the exchange with amusement. "What do you want to watch?" she asked.

"Have you ever seen _The Muppets Christmas Carol_?" Lisa asked.

"I love that one," Sara said, enthusiastically. 

"I should have known better than to let you two meet," Leonard grumbled as he called up the movie.

"You don't like it?" Sara guessed.

" _A Christmas Carol_ is not meant to be a musical with puppets," Leonard complained. "It's a horror story about how a man became wealthy by taking advantage of those weaker than him and then being corrupted by the three ghosts into becoming a do-gooder."

"You have a very interesting interpretation of that story," Sara said and leaned up to kiss his jaw. "How is it a horror story?"

"Ghost stories are generally considered to be horror stories, right?" Leonard asked. When Sara nodded, he continued, "At its essence, this is a ghost story. Ergo, this is a horror story."

"If you say so," Sara said, in a placating tone.

Leonard continued to pout, but he still wrapped his arm around her as they settled in to watch the movie, Lisa having curled up on the chair.

~~*~~

The end credits were just starting to roll when the door burst open and Mick bellowed, "Where's the birthday girl?" He was carrying an extremely full paper grocery bag in one arm.

Sara jumped up from the couch and ran over to give Mick a hug on his free side. "Hey, Mick."

He returned the hug before releasing Sara and closing the door. "Happy Birthday, Sara."

Lisa and Leonard had stood as well and Lisa came over to drag Mick over to the trees and his unopened gift.

"Look what Sara did for us," Lisa excited said to Mick. She gestured to the lone wrapped gift. "That one's yours. They wouldn't let me open it."

Mick stared at the wrapped present and then blinked and looked over at Sara, who now stood with an arm around Leonard.

"You got me a present?" Mick asked in awe.

Sara shrugged bashfully. "I got presents for Leonard and Lisa, too. Didn't want you to feel left out."

"But you're not sleeping with me, or my brother," Mick said, still confused.

"I kinda am," Sara said, earning a giggle from Lisa and a glare from Leonard. "Sleeping with your brother," she quickly added, "not with you. Obviously."

Lisa took the bagful of groceries into the kitchen and when Mick still was just staring at the gift, she picked it up and put it in his hands. "If you don't open it soon, I will," she threatened.

That seemed to pull Mick out of his stupor and he ripped into the paper, revealing a large jar candle. A look of delight lit up his face, followed by a look of caution. Slowly, he removed the lid and gave the candle an experimental sniff, grinning widely in satisfaction when he didn't smell anything.

"Thank you, it's perfect," he told Sara, crossing over to her and lifting her up in a hug.

Sara laughed, happy with his reaction. "You're welcome," she said. "I was afraid it might be too girly, but I made sure to find a scentless one for you. I know how much you like watching flames."

"That I do," Mick agreed. "No one's ever gotten me such a thoughtful gift before."

"You should see what she got us," Lisa said, proudly displaying the jewelry she was still wearing.

"What'd she get you?" Mick asked his partner.

Leonard put his foot on the couch and lifted his right pant leg to reveal the knife. Mick gave a low whistle of appreciation. 

"I also gave him a cashmere scarf," Sara added.

"You did good, Blondie," Mick said. He rubbed his hands together and headed towards the kitchen. "Now, I have work to do."

"Whatcha making?" Sara asked, trailing behind him, which meant that Leonard had followed her into the kitchen as well.

"My grandmother's meat sauce and spaghetti. Gonna make some garlic bread, too," Mick said.

"That sounds wonderful," Sara said, her mouth watering. "Can I do anything to help?"

"Nah, I've got this," Mick said, pulling the ingredients out of the grocery bag. He winked at her. "You and Leonard go have fun."

"I like the sound of that," Leonard said. He wrapped his arms around Sara from behind and started to pull her out of the room when her cell phone rang.

Sara sighed and reached into her pants pocket to retrieve it. It could only be one person so she didn't even bother looking at the caller ID.

"Hi, Daddy," she said, trying to step out of Leonard's embrace, but he just held her tighter. Sara turned her head to glare up at him and he kissed the tip of her nose.

_"Happy Birthday, Baby!"_ Quentin greeted her.

Sara sighed internally and leaned back against Leonard. "Thanks, Daddy. Merry Christmas."

_"I'm gonna put you on speaker,"_ Quentin said. There was a beep and then Sara could hear her mom and Laurel wishing her a happy birthday, too.

_"We miss you,"_ Dinah said. _"Are you having fun with your friend?"_

"I am," Sara replied. "Lisa made me an amazing breakfast of French toast and bacon this morning and then we watched _Sixteen Candles_ and _The Muppet Christmas Carol_. Her brother's friend, Mick, just came over and he's making all of us dinner."

Sara was proud of the fact that she didn't have to lie once during her report. 

_"That actually sounds like a fun day,"_ Laurel said.

"It has been," Sara said, squeezing Leonard's arm that was around her waist. "They've been spoiling me rotten."

_"You deserve it,"_ Quentin said. _"Enjoy the rest of your special day."_

"I'm sure that I will," Sara said. "Thanks for calling. Love all of you."

_"We love you, too,"_ they chorused back before disconnecting.

With his head so close, Leonard had been able to hear both sides of the conversation. "I envy that sometimes," he whispered into her ear.

"What?" Sara asked, turning in his arms to look up at him.

Leonard gestured with his head towards the bedrooms and Sara nodded, following him to his room.

Once the door was closed, he sat on the bed, pulling her down with him. "We didn't have that," he said, making a vague gesture with his hand. "Parents who remembered our birthdays and called to say they missed us. You don't know how lucky you are to have that."

Sara slid her hand into Leonard's, twining their fingers together. "I'm sorry you had such a crappy childhood," she said, bringing their joined hands to her lips and kissing the back of his hand.

"Sorry I ruined the mood," Leonard said, cupping her jaw with his free hand. 

"You didn't ruin anything," Sara said, her free hand landing on his thigh and giving it a gentle squeeze as their lips met. 

Her fingers dug into the tight muscles of his thigh as the kiss deepened, causing Leonard to groan. He eased her down on the bed. The kiss broke only long enough for them to shift around so they were lying lengthwise on the bed, Sara using the freedom to pull off her sweater and tank top. 

Leonard settled back on top of her, one hand immediately going to a breast, teasing her nipple through her bra as his mouth found hers again. 

This was one of the things that Sara loved about being with Leonard. It didn't have to be all about sex with him. Not that she didn't love having sex with him, but sometimes it was nice to just touch and make out. Speaking of touching…

Sara dragged Leonard's sweater up his torso, forcing him to break the kiss to get it over his head. She pushed him onto his back and he went willingly, moaning softly as Sara kissed her way from his jaw down his neck and over his chest. Her fingers lightly danced over his flesh, touching all of his scars but never lingering. 

She found each of his nipples in turn, teasing them with her lips and tongue until they were both hardened nubs. They weren't the only thing hard about him, either. Sara rolled her hips, pressing against his growing hardness, humming with pleasure when he moaned her name. 

Sara took that as her cue to continue her exploration down his chest, flicking her tongue into his belly button before placing an opened mouth kiss just above the waistband of his jeans.

She flicked her eyes up to his to find his pupils blown as he stared heatedly down at her. She grinned as she popped the button on his jeans and lowered the zipper. Leonard lifted his hips so that she could pull them, and his underwear, down to his knees. He propped himself up on his elbows as Sara moved between his splayed legs. 

She licked her lips before leaning down and placing a kiss on the tip of Leonard's cock. He choked off a moan at that first touch, mindful of the other people in the apartment. Sara grasped him with one hand as she took the tip in her mouth. She ran her tongue over the head a couple of times before taking more of him in her mouth. 

She felt one of Leonard's hands on the back of her head. Not pushing her, just burying his fingers in her hair, encouragingly. 

Her hand moved over the parts of the shaft that she couldn't reach with her mouth, even though she was able to take a bit more of him with each bob of her head. 

Leonard was biting his bottom lip, trying to stay quiet. Considering that he'd been half hard all day, he wasn't going to last long. 

"Sara," he bit out, hardly able to form words at this point but wanting to warn her. 

Sara glanced up at his face and gave him a bit of a nod before doubling her efforts. She hollowed out her cheeks and sucked, hard, flicking her tongue over the head when it was in reach. 

That was enough for Leonard and, with a grunt, he let himself go. Sara swallowed his release and then let him fall from her mouth. She placed a kiss on his hip before crawling up the bed to press against his side. He loosely wrapped an arm around her, not having the energy for more just yet.

When he tried to kiss her, Sara demurred. "Don't you want me to brush my teeth first?"

"In a minute," Leonard said, capturing her mouth. "Do you want me to return the favor?" he offered.

"Nah, I can wait until later tonight," Sara said. 

Leonard threw an arm over his eyes and groaned. "You're going to be the death of me."

Sara simply laughed and pulled on her tops before slipping out of the room, presumably to brush her teeth.

~~*~~

Everyone was in the kitchen when Sara emerged from the bathroom.

"It smells fantastic in here," Sara said, joining the others at the table.

"Thanks," Mick said. "Gotta let the sauce simmer for another hour, at least."

"So what are we doing until then?" Sara asked.

Leonard produced a pack of cards from a pocket. "Bridge? We've got a fourth if Sara knows how to play."

Sara giggled. "You guys play Bridge? Isn't that an old person game?"

"Do you know how to play or not?" Lisa asked her. "We haven't gotten to play since our fourth got sent to Iron Heights."

"Yeah, my grandma made me learn so I could play with her and her old lady friends when we visited," Sara said.

"Perfect. You're my partner. Lisa, switch with me," Leonard said, standing so he and Lisa could switch places, putting Leonard across the table from Sara.

"Isn't this gonna take longer than an hour, though?" Sara asked as Leonard dealt.

"The sauce will be fine," Mick said. "It's better the next day the longer it cooks anyway."

After they'd been playing for almost two hours, Mick got up to preheat the oven, and then a few minutes later to put in the garlic bread and set a large pot of water to start boiling. 

He'd return to the table to play and then get up again as he added the pasta to the boiling water and started on the salad. 

Even with all of the distractions, Mick and Lisa won. 

"Sorry, guess I was pretty rusty," Sara apologized to her partner.

"It's all right," Leonard assured her, gathering up the cards so they could set the table for dinner. "Now that we know you play, you'll get lots of time to practice."

Lisa stood and gathered silverware, napkins, salad bowls and plates, setting the bowls and plates on the counter and the napkins and silverware around the table. 

The timer beeped signaling the bread was done and Mick removed it from the oven and pulled back the foil, grunting with satisfaction when he saw that it was not burnt. Not that he expected it to be. He drained the pasta and set it in a large bowl.

Lisa set out wine glasses and opened a bottle of Chianti, filling everyone's glasses.

"You know I'm only turning nineteen," Sara reminded Lisa when she filled her glass.

"Like we care?" Lisa said, huffing out a laugh. "We're criminals. Besides, it's not like you're going to be driving anywhere tonight."

"All right," Mick said. "Come and get it. Birthday girl first."

Sara stood and picked up a plate. She helped herself to a plateful of spaghetti before covering it in the sauce, and then set a couple pieces of garlic bread around the edges. She also filled a bowl with the salad Mick had already dressed.

She sat and waited for everyone to join her before raising her glass. "To the best birthday I've ever had," she toasted.

The other raised their glasses and said, "Happy Birthday." They clinked glasses and took a sip of the wine and then dug into the food.

"Oh my god, this is amazing," Sara said around a mouthful of pasta. "I had no idea you could cook like this. This has got to be the best sauce I've ever had."

Mick positively beamed at her. "Thanks. Glad you like it."

They ate in mostly silence, all of them enjoying the delicious meal. 

As the food disappeared, and after the men had each had seconds, Leonard had to remind everyone to leave some room for dessert.

"There's dessert?" Sara asked, eyes wide, feeling full already.

"What would you expect for dessert at a birthday dinner?" Leonard asked.

Sara's distress turned into delight. "You have birthday cake?"

"You see how your stomach just created room for it?" Lisa teased. "There's always room for dessert."

They all helped to clear the table and Lisa began washing the dishes as Mick put the leftovers into containers to go in the fridge. Sara and Leonard were shooed into the living room while they worked. 

As they settled on the couch together, Sara said, "If you guys ever meet my family, Mick's cooking. My dad makes a mean lasagna and he'd appreciate Mick's sauce. Might make the whole criminal thing easier to take."

"I'm happy putting that day off for as long as possible," Leonard admitted.

"Yeah, me too," Sara agreed. "The last thing I want is my dad trying to arrest my boyfriend and his family."

"We'd like to avoid that, too," Lisa said as she and Mick joined them. Mick dropped into the armchair and Lisa sat on Sara's other side on the couch, dropping a couple of wrapped presents into her lap.

"What's this?" Sara asked. 

"Birthday presents, silly," Lisa said.

"But I thought dinner was my present," Sara said, bewildered. 

"That was your present from me," Mick said. "They had their own ideas."

"Open mine first," Lisa insisted, handing her the gift from her.

"If you insist," Sara said, laughing. She tore into the paper and lifted the lid off the box. Inside was a gold necklace with her name suspended between the chains.

"I love it," Sara exclaimed, leaning over to give Lisa a hug. "Help me put it on," she said to Leonard, handing him the necklace as she lifted her hair. He nimbly secured it around her neck. Once it was on, she turned to him to show it off.

"Very nice," he said. He handed her the other small box. "Now mine."

"Is it more jewelry?" Sara asked, removing the wrapping paper.

"Not exactly," Leonard drawled. 

"Not at all's more like it," Sara said after lifting the lid off the box as she stared down at the key nestled inside. She picked up the key and looked at Leonard in confusion.

"I want you to move in with me," he said, looking more nervous than she had ever seen him.

Sara's jaw hung open as she blinked at him in shock. "You want me to live with you and Lisa?"

"Just him, actually," Lisa said, from behind Sara. She moved so that she was sitting on the armrest of Mick's chair so she could see them both. "I'm getting my own place."

"And you're okay with that?" Sara asked Leonard. She knew how close the siblings were, despite their age difference.

"A one bedroom opened up in this building recently. Lisa's been wanting to spread her wings for a while now, so this seemed like the right opportunity," Leonard said. "For both of us," he added, looking at her intently.

In her peripheral vision, Sara was vaguely aware of Lisa dragging Mick back towards the kitchen, giving her and Leonard some privacy.

"But we've only really been together for four months," Sara tried to protest.

"Six months," Leonard corrected her.

"Four that I've been in town," Sara reminded him. "Isn't this a bit fast?"

"You spend most of your time here already," Leonard pointed out. "Do you not want to live with me?"

"It's not that," Sara quickly responded. "I would love to live with you."

"Then what's the problem?" he asked, trying to not get impatient.

"We're going to have to tell my dad," Sara said. "Not just tell him we're dating, but he's going to have to meet you. There's no way he'd let me move in with some guy he's never met, no matter how much I love you."

Leonard went very still. "You love me?" he quietly asked.

"Of course I do," Sara said. "I thought you knew that."

"You never said," he told her. 

Sara moved to straddle him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I've been falling in love with you since that day we met almost a year ago. I think I knew around the time we started sleeping together."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Leonard asked.

"I didn't want to scare you off," Sara admitted. "Like I said, we haven't been together that long and I know you don't like being all touchy feely."

"I love you, too," Leonard said, intently staring into her eyes. "I wouldn't have asked you to live with me if I didn't."

"Yes, assuming my dad doesn't kill or arrest you, I'd love to live with you," Sara said.

The distance between them disappeared as their mouths crashed together in a sloppy, heated kiss. Leonard's hands were buried in her hair and Sara's nails dug into the back of his neck as they tried to pull the other closer. 

"All right, all right," Mick said, re-entering the room carrying a cake with nineteen candles lit around the edges. "You can do that all you want once you're living together. Now it's time for cake."

Reluctantly, Sara slid off Leonard's lap, trying to smooth down her hair. "How'd you know I said yes?"

"I don't think you would have been eating each other's faces if the answer was no," Lisa said, carrying small plates, forks and a large knife.

Mick set the cake on the coffee table and Sara blew out the candles in two tries. The candles were removed from the cake and confiscated by Mick while Leonard cut the cake and handed out slices. Sara pressed against his side as they ate and Lisa told them all about her new apartment.

Later that night, as Sara and Leonard lay tired and sated after making love, Sara said, "This really has been the best birthday ever. Thank you." She pressed a kiss to his chest. 

"They can all be like this, you know," he said. "This will be your home next year."

"Don't know if I'll be able to avoid my family two years in a row, but maybe next year you'll get to see what a real family Christmas is like. Lisa, and maybe Mick, too."

She felt Leonard tense up a bit at that idea, so she ran her hands soothingly over his chest until he relaxed again.

"Happy Birthday, Sara," Leonard said when he was nearly asleep.

"Merry Christmas, Leonard," Sara responded, drifting off to sleep.

The End


End file.
